You are hard to please. I handed you the paint codes. Good luck with your quest for unobtanium....

Metallic gold will be a beeotch to match regardless. Gun setup and spray technique can greatly affect how the metallics lay and the resulting color.

Don

Thank you Don,

I don't know anything about paint or painting a car. What I do know is the rep for SEM couldn't match the paint nor could the body shop. I assumed you looked at all the different attempts they made to match it with those color swatches. The other issue is the original paint is a chemical base which isn't allowed in California any more. The body shop had to try to match it with our lovely water based paints of today. Fortunately they were able to find some old stock here in town. If they can find some I will too.

given the SEM guy did several spray outs and was not able to match you see how hard some metallic are very hard to match even if you have the "formula" as gun set up and spray technique and ultimately mixing all factor in

I just had some paint fixes done on a metallic color that is a non stock 1st gen color. The shop used a color ID camera and did a spray out on a few cards. 100% nailed the color match.

They gave me the spray out card which had the formula mix 411 printed on back incase I ever need to match paint again

With this said you may find another shops "abilities" to get you a solid match are better than where you have gone and if so once they do have them mix a quantity you can purchase for future use should you need it

given the SEM guy did several spray outs and was not able to match you see how hard some metallic are very hard to match even if you have the "formula" as gun set up and spray technique and ultimately mixing all factor in

I just had some paint fixes done on a metallic color that is a non stock 1st gen color. The shop used a color ID camera and did a spray out on a few cards. 100% nailed the color match.

They gave me the spray out card which had the formula mix 411 printed on back incase I ever need to match paint again

With this said you may find another shops "abilities" to get you a solid match are better than where you have gone and if so once they do have them mix a quantity you can purchase for future use should you need it

My Chevelle is an original metallic "Marina Blue" and this worries me - trying to ever match it if any repairs are ever needed.

Should I consider painting it a solid color instead ? Metallics seem like such a hassle.

My Chevelle is an original metallic "Marina Blue" and this worries me - trying to ever match it if any repairs are ever needed.

Should I consider painting it a solid color instead ? Metallics seem like such a hassle.

IMHO, a good paint shop should be able to replicate the color. Obviously some are harder to match than others especially non water based older colors

When I took my car in for some inner trunk lid and gas fill neck chips I also asked about fixing a scratch on the rear deck and said if you can't 100% match don't do the deck, just inside the trunk and spot fix the chips around gas fill.

Shop called 2 days later to say car was ready but no mention on what they did. Owner said "go take a look". I looked uber close from every direction even using the shops sun gun and the match was absolutely perfect. More discerning eyes have since seen the repair and could not see ANY variance in the paint.

Granted my paint job is not stock and fairly new but is metallic and the match was and is perfect. YMMV

I don't know anything about paint or painting a car. What I do know is the rep for SEM couldn't match the paint nor could the body shop. I assumed you looked at all the different attempts they made to match it with those color swatches. The other issue is the original paint is a chemical base which isn't allowed in California any more. The body shop had to try to match it with our lovely water based paints of today. Fortunately they were able to find some old stock here in town. If they can find some I will too.

IMHO, a good paint shop should be able to replicate the color. Obviously some are harder to match than others especially non water based older colors

When I took my car in for some inner trunk lid and gas fill neck chips I also asked about fixing a scratch on the rear deck and said if you can't 100% match don't do the deck, just inside the trunk and spot fix the chips around gas fill.

Shop called 2 days later to say car was ready but no mention on what they did. Owner said "go take a look". I looked uber close from every direction even using the shops sun gun and the match was absolutely perfect. More discerning eyes have since seen the repair and could not see ANY variance in the paint.

Granted my paint job is not stock and fairly new but is metallic and the match was and is perfect. YMMV

Yes, I have several friends in different states that I could get the paint from if it were available. If I need it repaired again i'll take it to a Nevada body shop.
This car my son and I built for him as a high school car. It was built as a driver mostly because it was his high school car. Even though it has an expensive paint job we have never worried about where to park it because we weren't worried about scratches. It's had small scratches and one dent the machine shop put in it fixed in the past. Each time I took it to the original painter and he'd fix it for about $300. This time I couldn't find the original painter any more so I took it to a different shop and was floored by the $8,300.00 bill to repair a small 1" long scratch. Now I'm paranoid about parking it anywhere. This car is very special to me because my son passed away and I inherited it from him. This is the reason why I'll never change the color and am trying to find some back up paint in case of another mishap. I have about half a pint left and that's it.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Like the guy said above it's not just matching the color it's the number of coats, how well it's sanded in between, and the clearing and how heavy or light each spray is...a million variables that only the original painter could even come close to which is why they paint to a break.

I had my 68 vandalized a while back and a tiny scratch in the rear quarter caused them to have to go up and over the roof and the trunk and even after painting all that your eye might pick up on a difference from the door panel to the rear quarter which is why they also said repainting the car is the only way to get all to match.

And after all that they missed the trunk gutters which in some other place would have required the whole thing to be done over yet again because they can't get that right.

On the other hand, my 07 Mustang got a ding on it from a grocery cart and I took it to the body shop and they were able to buff it out which in my mind is like borrowing some paint flakes from the still covered painted area and moving it to the uncovered area enough to even it out and clearing it to glue it in place. They didn't even charge me.

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